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The short story "A Good Man is hard to Find" was written in 1958 by O'Connor. This story is based upon the story of a family that become unfortunate victims of a serial killer. The plot is based on the family of bailey. That is his wife two children and baby and his mother. When it is time to going holiday, bailey chooses to go to Florida but his mother is aware that there is a serial killer in Florida called the Misfit. However, bailey doesn't need his mother's advice to go to Tennessee instead. They therefore set off to Florida. However, an unfortunate progression of events leads them to become victims of the Misfit.

The second story "Where are You Going, Where Have You Been" was first published during in 1966. This is eight years after the publication of the first book. The story was inspired by events that the author came across in a newspaper about a serial killer who prowled on young girls. The main character Connie is a fifteen year old girl who is blackmailed by a serial paedophile called Arnold. This manipulation later makes her leave her home and go with Arnold so as to save her family (Oates, 1993).

The first story focuses on the theme of violence and the falling into the claws of a serial killer. This theme of violence is shown when the Misfit pulls up his car where bailey and his family had an accident. The pleasant exchanges soon became violent and the Misfit's cronies led out bailey and his family into the woods to kill them. The Misfit later killed Bailey's mother also known simply as "the grandmother" in the story. This shows that there were plenty of violent killings in the story.

The mental health of the Misfit and his cronies is also questionable. This is best seen when the grandmother is talking to him trying to plead for her family and for the salvation of his soul. He has clearly given Jesus a lot of thought that is skewed in a slightly disturbing way. Also, his homicidal tendencies show a high level of psychopathy and lack of mental stability.

In the second story, Connie is victim to serial paedophile called Arnold who stalks her in numerous times as she is with her friends. Finally, Arnold approaches her when her family is gone to a barbecue on Sunday that she refuses to go to. Arnold threatens her with violence towards her family and loved ones if she does not go with him. This threat of the use of violence brings out the theme of violence. Arnold is also not a mentally stable individual. This is clear from the manipulation and threats that he is willing to follow up on.

What is interesting about the manifestation of these themes in both the stories is that there was an increase in communication during this period. The print media, the radio and even the television had become more popular in normal households and news spread fast. New interest was being given to unstable serial killers and psychopaths who went on killing sprees. This attention is perhaps what inspired the writers in both the stories. They must have been intrigued by the mental processes of these killers and their victims.

"A Good Man is Hard to Find" also brings out the theme of reform and having female heroines. Despite not being able to save her family from the serial killer Misfit, she did do her best to convince him that he should spare her family. She did this by bravely negotiating with him even after she knew that he was indeed the serial killer who struck fear in her heart. She was able to get him to open up about a couple of issues in his personal life as she was negotiating for her life and that of her family as well as his eternal soul. However, her bravery came to naught when she at last called the Misfit her son and tried to hug him. He shot her three times in the chest and said "She would have been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life", as they go to dump her body (O’Connor, 1977).

In the second story, Connie is manipulated by Arnold to leave with him in order to protect her family. This shows that Connie was willing to put her life in the line and to act bravely on order to protect her family. Despite the fact that she is a minor and her actions were not entirely informed, Connie does become quite the heroine at the end of the story when she gives herself up for the sake of her family.

This theme of female heroines is important for the period since this was during the civil rights movement where the second wave of feminism was sweeping the globe and more importance was being given to women as independent beings who are also capable of making gallant choices like their male counterparts and be the brave heroines in stories. This civil rights movement changed sentiments all over America about non dominant groups like blacks, women and the disabled (Evans, 1979).

Another theme that is evident is that of free will and autonomy from parents. Bailey decided to take a holiday to Florida with his family despite the fact that his mother was vehemently against it. He exercised his autonomy as an adult to do as he desired and not as his mother wanted him to do. This shows his use of his free will. However, mother had to respect his decision and she enjoyed the trip until the unfortunate accident that made them vulnerable to the Misfit and his gang.

Connie on the other hand isn't an adult. She is however a teenage girl at the height of her adolescence years who is trying to get a level of autonomy from her parents. She refuses to go the family barbecue and despite the fact that her parents were disappointed, they had to respect her decision. Also, she autonomously made the decision to leave with Arnold.

This theme is important of the time since it shows a shift from the authoritarian power that parents had over their children in previous times. This shows a popularity of parents respecting the decisions of their children and allowing them to exercise their free will. This respect for free will is what has developed into the modern day open society and family in the United States.

In conclusion, the paper does give an analysis of the two novels while focusing on the themes of violence and mental instability, the rise of the heroine and child autonomy. It highlights the areas of interest about how the themes are similar in the two stories.

Cited Work

Evans, Sara Margaret. Personal politics: The roots of women's liberation in the civil rights movement and the new left. Vol. 228. Vintage, 1979.

O'connor, Flannery. A good man is hard to find: And other stories. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1977.

Oates, Joyce Carol. Where are You Going, where Have You Been?: Selected Early Stories. Ontario Review Press, 1993.